Reaching the people

With many rural congregations in the region and few clergy, pastors frequently cared for three or four churches.

Some clergy creatively solved the problem. In 1883 the first Episcopalian bishop of North Dakota, the Rev. William D. Walker, ordered a "Gospel Car." The railroad car seated 80 and supplied a pulpit and organ. Wherever the train stopped, people flocked to the services.

By the turn of the century, rapid population growth and expectations that North Dakota would be as thickly settled as Pennsylvania resulted in more churches being built than members could support. Competition for parishioners and funds was intense. Events like picnic basket socials were used to raise money and entice members.

But small congregations and the poverty of the population made all churches dependent on outside aid. John Shanley, the first bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fargo, raised money by preaching at retreats in the East. Over the years, the Presbyterian church in North Dakota received $1 million from its national mission board.

Closing church doors

Beginning in the 1920s, the lack of members forced most denominations to close a number of churches in the region. This affected the older American congregations more than the immigrant ones because they tended to have more churches with fewer members. The Congregationalists dropped from 236 churches in 1916 to 97 in 1960, according to Elwyn Robinson’s "History of North Dakota."

Poor crops and the effects of the Depression translated into very little church growth between 1919 and 1939. There are some success stories, however.

In 1932 a Sunday school was started in rooms over a grocery store on the north side of Fargo. Even though it was the middle of the Depression, the pastor of Elim Lutheran Church was able to scrape enough donations together to build a small school on donated land. In 1950 Messiah Lutheran Church was established in conjunction with the Northside Sunday School.

The post-war years

Before World War I, immigrant churches began to experience tensions between older members, who wanted foreign-language services, and the younger generation, who wanted services in English. The war intensified American nationalism and leaders of immigrant churches began to recognize the need to Americanize their churches or lose younger members.

But change was gradual. It wasn’t until the end of World War II that more members of the Evangelical church in North Dakota subscribed to the church magazine published in English than to the one published in German.

Built in 1898 by Cass Gilbert, architect of the Minnesota Capitol, Church of St. John the Divine in Moorhead was named a state historical site in 1987. St. John's owes much to English Gothic designs which Gilbert had seen while traveling in Europe.  Clay County Historical Society

As churches gave up their old language, it became easier for congregations of the same denominations to consider merging. In the 1960s the majority of Lutherans were represented by four denominations. Three of these branches combined to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1988.

For Catholics, the post-war years saw an increase in the number of young men and women who joined the priesthood and sisterhood.

"There was a strong Catholic identity," said the Rev. Steven Reiske, secretary to the bishop of the Fargo Diocese.

But a strong identity was threatened when the Second Vatican Council brought radical changes to the Catholic church in the mid-1960s.

One of the most perceived changes was the revamping of the Latin liturgy to make it more accessible to people in their own language. Priests were given permission to face the congregation during services. In many cases, statues were ripped out of churches and frescoes were painted over.

The changes happened quickly, leaving many members wondering what had happened to their church.

Although Catholics are still trying to interpret Vatican II, the church is also finding a middle ground between the changes and tradition. One example is the restoration of Fargo’s St. Mary’s Cathedral. Painted white after the Vatican Council, the interior now reveals some of the original colorful murals and detailed Stations of the Cross.

More cooperation

Ecumenism became a theological buzzword in the 1950s and still affects Christian churches today.

On a national level, some denominations have unified in varying degrees. One recent example is the agreement of full communion in 1998 between the ELCA, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Reformed Church in America and the United Church of Christ. Among other things, the agreement opens up eucharistic celebrations of each participating denomination and provides for the exchange of ministers.

But ecumenism is vibrant on the local level, too. Ecumenical services and events abound. In the 1980s Holy Cross Catholic Church and Lutheran Church of the Cross in West Fargo coordinated their two buildings architecturally. The churches are joined by a connecting walkway, bell tower and fellowship area.

Increasing diversity

Now on the verge of a new century and a new millennium, religion in Fargo-Moorhead is still changing to reflect the people in the communities.

Hispanics who once worked as migrant farm workers are now permanent members of the community, resulting in a number of Spanish-language services.

According to "Fargo-Moorhead: A Guide to Historic Architecture" Lutherans built a large tower at First Lutheran Church in a friendly attempt to "out-do" the church across the street, St. Mary's Cathedral. Today the two churches host an annual fellowship evening to celebrate both faith communities.  Nick Carlson / The Forum

Refugees from around the world have arrived in the past decade, largely under the auspices of resettlement programs sponsored by Lutheran and Episcopal churches. Due in part to these newcomers, Islam is making a presence in a predominately Christian region.

Leonard Eid was frustrated by the shortage of available housing in Fargo-Moorhead when he moved his family here from Walhalla, N.D., in 1948.

So he did something about it.


Houses proceeded the streets during developement of Mooread's Morningside Addition in 1960. Special to the Forum

The country attorney enlisted brothers Myron and Vernon Eid and launched Eid Bros. Construction Co. Today, Eid-Co is the largest and longest-operating home building business in Fargo-Moorhead, and the only remaining charter member of the Homebuilders Association of Fargo-Moorhead.

Company president Gerald Eid said Eid-Co. has built more than 4,000 homes since his father founded the business some 50 years ago.

"He saw a real need for housing for families of average income," Eid said of his father.

Many of the early buyers were veterans, returning home after serving in World War II.

Eid said his father remained a practicing attorney, leaving management of the construction company up to brothers Myron and Vernon.

The first homes the Eid brothers built were in an area south of what is now the Thomas Edison Elementary School area of Moorhead.

The first home completed was at 1021 14th St. S. in Moorhead. It was sold by Realtor O.A. Holm to Harry Wesse for $16,250.

Eid Bros. Construction shortly after that developed its first neighborhood, the Myers Addition in Moorhead. Development of an entire neighborhood by one construction company at the time was something of a new concept to Fargo-Moorhead.

"This was kind of the start of a new era in home building," Gerald Eid said.

A list of Eid homes in the development shows that many were financed through G.I. loans. Prices started at $12,900.

The business branched out in the 1950s as Leonard Eid teamed up with Leo Fleming to start Leo Lumber Co., which was later sold and became Crane Johnson Lumber.

Leonard Eid also launched the Great West Construction Co., which built South Plaza and the Bowler in south Fargo, Newman Center at North Dakota State University, phase II of the Northport Shopping Center in north Fargo and Brookdale Shopping Mall in Moorhead.

Eid Bros. Construction in 1958 became Eid-Co.

Eid-Co embarked on its biggest project that same year in developing the Morningside Addition east of U.S. Highway 52, or Southeast Main Avenue. It was a controversial move at the time, as some city leaders resisted the move east.

For several years Eid-Co provided school bus transportation for elementary school children in the addition.

Gerald Eid, who had worked construction for the company during summers, joined his father in the business in 1963 after graduating from Concordia College.

The company in 1968 opened a component building plant in Moorhead. The plant produced roof trusses and wall sections for Eid-Co homes.

The component plant was closed in 1980, when interest rates rose to 22 percent and housing starts in the Fargo-Moorhead market declined by 90 percent.

"We had high interest rates and recession. When you looked at the housing market, it was a depression," Eid said. "There was absolutely no market."

Eid-Co at one time had its own construction crews. Over the years it has evolved to do most of its work through relationships with electrical and plumbing contractors and carpentry firms.

"We still do business with many of the people my father did business with when he started up," Eid said

Eid-Co sells all of its homes through local real estate agents, but maintains its own marketing department.

Jason Eid, Gerald Eid's youngest son, is the third generation in the business. He's the company's systems manager.

Eid-Co recently began developing retail centers and office buildings. Eid-Co built the Southpointe Business Park on 32nd Avenue South in Fargo and recently completed the Westfields project on Fargo's 45th Street South.

Eid said the housing industry will continue to evolve. Homes in a neighborhood near the new Fargo School District elementary school will feature an old concept: garages located off alleys rather than the street.

He said the company will continue to tailor the design of its homes to the needs of today's changing families.

"All homes, basically, were designed for the 'Ozzie and Harriet' family when I got in this business in the 1960s," Eid said. "There's been a dramatic shift to where that family no longer represents more than 50 percent of the homeowners."

This year - with low interest rates continuing as they are - Eid-Co will build another 150 homes in the Fargo-Moorhead housing market. The company recently developed a home with a $59,900 base price, excluding lot.

"Affordable means different things to different people," Eid said. "What we do is build affordable homes for families of average or medium incomes."